REALTORS® Encourage Cities to Capitalize On Opportunities under HB 1220

House Bill 1220 requires cities to plan to accommodate housing that is affordable to households that typically need government subsidies to obtain housing. It allows cities to collect a small sales tax to help fund those efforts.

Recently, state law was amended to provide cities with the option to use a portion of those sales tax proceeds to create homeownership opportunities—not simply subsidized rental housing—and REALTORS® have been actively encouraging cities to amend their codes to take advantage of this new opportunity to promote homeownership.

Covington

The city of Covington was an early adopter of the code changes needed to take advantage of this opportunity. The code amendments now allow proceeds from the sales tax to support homeownership opportunities for households with low and moderate incomes.

Burien

The city of Burien also approved code provisions to use the special sales tax revenues to assist with homeownership initiatives, but the city initially limited its ordinance to situations involving buyers at or below 50% of Area Median Income (AMI).

REALTORS® encouraged the Planning Commission to increase the AMI limit to 80%, which is still difficult, but not beyond the realm of possibility when coupled with a variety of downpayment assistance programs.

Renton

The city of Renton is evaluating what it describes as “a multi-faceted approach to encouraging first-time homeownership opportunities” by

• revising and including housing affordability targets in response to HB 1220,
• the Black Home Initiative which supports new homeownership opportunities,
• partnering with service providers and housing developers on best practices, and
• understanding which types and layouts of housing can best preserve the city’s diverse communities while enhancing the livability standards for all residents.

In the meantime, the city is continuing to support Middle Housing on 30% of all residential properties. Its Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and Cottage Housing ordinance is a model of success.